Seriously Speaking: Accentuate the Positive

Making Your Business Sing (Again?)

The other day I saw heading for a short post from Success Ventures about “accentuating the positive”. It reminded me of an old song that I first heard my dad or my mom sing. It was written in the 1940’s by Johnny Mercer (Winter Wonderland, Jingle Bells, and for you Disney fans, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah). The song has been performed by such greats as Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Louis Armstrong, and one of my all-time favorite singers, Sam Cooke. If you are interested you can listen to the Sam Cooke version here.

The song, which was published in 1944 while WWII was still raging, provides some sound advice on taking control of your life. Most of you reading this post would not have been born at the time it was written (and probably for many years later) and may never have heard the song or seen the lyrics. For those of you who do not know me personally, I was not yet born either. Think about what was going on at the time. Husbands, sons, mothers, daughters engaged in the war efforts and some would never return to their previous lives. Pretty bold to put out a song talking about “Accentuating the Positive” at this time in our country’s history. But that IS what they did in those times. They found ways to lift each other up. Look at the lyrics, listen to the song. It was purposely upbeat, in that old big band style that makes you want to get up and move, put on those dancing shoes, and hit the dance floor. Imagine what would happen if you could apply this to your life. Maybe, if we are all lucky, you can lift someone up with your new found positivity.

Well, since this is a blog for business people, I suppose I should address why this old song is the basis of this blog. Well, the song actually provides some pretty good advice that can be applied to your business as well. So, let’s get acquainted with the song.

The chorus of the song goes like this:

You’ve got to accentuate the positiveEliminate the negativeLatch on to the affirmativeAnd don’t mess with Mr. In Between.

Over the next few weeks, we will take each line from above and show how following the advice from this song might help your business sing. During that process, we will talk about how we might identify some of the underlying dynamics that may be the root cause for the presence, or lack thereof, for any of the above situations in your business.

PART ONE

The basics

Before we get down to the nitty-gritty, so to speak, we need to talk about some basics involved in this process:

Dynamics – in this context they are the underlying forces that operate within your business. They can move you forward or backward. Obviously, we want to identify the ones that are moving you in the right direction. The dynamics of your business are what will provide the driving force on your business concepts. Examples of these dynamics that are providing “motion” to your business could be: Company Culture, Current Economic Condition, Vendor Relationships, Governmental Regulations, etc. So, what are the dynamics that are impacting your business?

Concepts – for our purposes here, are those ideas that are being acted upon within the business. They may have been provided by management, they may have developed by stakeholders independent of management input, and they may or may not be in concert with the chosen, approved and expected direction the company wishes to move. Are your ideas and directions being carried out? Are someone else’s ideas being carried out? The answer to these questions don’t necessarily prove the existence of sinister forces at work. More often than not they reveal a disconnect between reality and perception. A disconnect that if left unchanged can have disastrous consequenses.

Action vs. Adaptation – some dynamics that are at work in your business, as well as those providing “force” from the outside are not changeable in the near term and will require adaptation. Others, are changeable and will require action in the near-term to effect meaningful change. It is important to know the difference. Actionable items are just that. They are dynamics within the business that can be acted upon within ninety days (90) that will have a measurable impact on your business.

Commitment – to make a change in your business requires your commitment. It can’t be a passive activity that you start, then you stop because it gets tough, or your not sure or, or, or. Change is not easy. Doing what is best for your business is not easy. This should NOT be like so many of those goals and objectives that come up at the managers meeting. Everyone agrees its a good idea, nothing happens, and we talk about it next time around. Like the shampoo bottle says: Lather, Rinse and repeat.

Examining your business, in my experience, is most successful when working with a guide. Even with my experience, it was difficult to dissect all the parts of a business with clarity while trying to carry on with the required day to day tasks. What I am going to do, within the pages of this blog, over the next few weeks will be just the bare minimum amount of guidance to get you started thinking about changing your dynamics. It will not be a complete roadmap for the entire process.

Next time… “Accentuating the Positive”in your business.

To be continued…

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Author: Patrick Cowan, CFO

I have over thirty years experience in Finance, Accounting, HR, and Business Management. Most of this has been at the Senior Management and Executive Level. I believe that small ideas can be big winners if the right dynamics are applied.
View all posts by Patrick Cowan, CFO

About Us

With more than thirty years experience in Finance, Accounting, HR, and Business Management Mr. Cowan has been faced with the responsibility of solving everyday problems that face any business. He has also been charged with crafting advanced strategies that move a business forward. This is where the idea for Conceptualized Dynamics was born.

Conceptualized Dynamics is focused on bringing CFO services and results to small businesses. While, CFO services are often just accounting services wrapped up in a bow, Conceptualized Dynamics offers more. We are focused on moving your business forward. Concepts are ideas. Sometimes these are ideas that you have, sometimes these are ideas that we develop together through strategy sessions, SWOT analysis, etc. A dynamic can be defined as force that causes movement. This is what Conceptualized Dynamics does. We uncover or create the dynamics that let you realize the fruits of your ideas and labor. In some cases we have to move away from the dynamics that are holding you back. A few of these may be fear, lack of funds, improper strategies, etc. The focus is always you and your business. There is no cookie cutter approach. Every strategy has to be custom, the dynamics crafted for your business, to move your business in the direction that you want to take it. This will be the direction that lets you achieve your goals.

I believe that small ideas can be big winners if the right dynamics are applied. Lets uncover your potential, your ideas and apply the dynamics that will move you toward your goals.